Luggage bags



May 22, 1956 T. s. CART 2,746,582

LUGGAGE: BAGS Filed July 27, 195s A TTOR NE V5 United States Patent O LUGGAGE BAGS Theodore S. Cart, Harbourton, N. J., assignor to Atlantic Products Corporation, Trenton, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 27, 1953, Serial No. 370,336

1 Claim. (Cl. 190-58) This invention relates to hand luggage, and pertains particularly to a type of hand luggage which has come to be known popularly as a zipper bag. This name is commonly applied to a type of bag in which the sides, ends and top of the bag are unsupported by any frame, and are usually without stiffening or reinforcement of any kind, except such as may be inherent in the fabric, leather or other material of which the sides, ends and top of the bag are formed. The bottom panel of such bags may be, and frequently is, stiened or reinforced in some manner.

In such bags, access to the interior is had through an aperture in the top of the bag which extends lengthwise thereof, which said aperture is usually provided with a slide fastener or zipper which serves to open or close the aperture. Such bags have usually been provided with a pair of matching handles attached to the side panels at corresponding locations.

Such handles have been attached to the side panels in various ways, sometimes by stitching or riveting directly to the side panels and sometimes by securing the handles, through metal rings or otherwise, to patches stitched or otherwise secured to the side panels. The use of patches has had the effect of distributing the weight over a larger area, but even so, if the bag is fully packed, the concentration of weight on the four patches connecting the ends of two handles to the side panels has tended to distort the normal contours of the bag. Moreover, any mode of attachment of handles to the side` panels involves the inherent weakness that the relatively light fabric, leather or plastic materials used in the side panels are not very strong and are likely to tear. If stitching is used, a still further weakness is introduced in that if the stitching is damaged, it may pull out.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel construction for such bags which is designed to eliminate the above-mentioned objections and difficulties.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will ap- `near hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a luggage bag embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan View of a corner of the bag on the line 4-4 of the Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged section of a corner of the bag on the line S-S of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the bag comprises side panels 1 and 2, which, in the embodiment illustrated, are extended around the end corners of the bag to form end panels 3 and 4. The bag illustrated does not have 2,746,582 Patented May 22, 1956 ICC the usual gusset, but the side panels converge and are closely spaced along tlfeir top edges. In some cases no fastening is required, but if desired, the top edges of the side panels may be secured to the usual tapes of a slide fastener 5 which closes the opening between the side panels through which access is had to the interior of the The panels are made of any suitable material, such as a textile fabric, leather or plastic, and the upper portions of the bag are ordinarily without stitfening or reinforcement of any kind other than that inherent in the material itself. If desired, the lower portion of the bag may be covered with material 6, preferably of leather, which protects against scufiing while at the same time enhancing the appearance of the bag, but this is not a reinforcement but rather a protective covering which adds little, if anything, to the stiffness of the side and end panels.

The bottom of the bag, on the other hand, is reinforced and stifened by a panel 7 of relatively stiff, rigid material such as fibre board, or wood which maintains the rectangular contour of the bottom.

The bag handles 8 and 9, preferably in the form of elongated, flexible strips, instead of being attached to the side panels according to usual practice, extend loosely through openings 10 in the side panels, which said openings are protected by grommets 11. The grommets, in turn are anchored in leather patches 12 which are stitched to the side panels. After passing through the side panels, the handles extend downwardly through the interior of the bag to the bottom where they are attached to the bottom panel in any suitable manner, as by rivets 13. The inside of the bottom panel 7 may be covered by a sheet 14 of suitable material which covers the rivets 13 and the outside of the panel 7 may also be covered by material 15 which may, if desired, be an extension of the side panels.

It will be observed that in a bag so constructed, the weight of the bag and contents is supported by the handles from the bottom. The handles merely pass through the side panels and none of the weight is carried thereby.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claim.

I claim as my invention:

A luggage bag comprising a flat, rigid bottom panel, ilexible side panels extending upwardly therefrom, said side panels having spaced upper edges providing an access aperture therebetween, a pair of matching handles for carrying said bag, said handles consisting of flexible strips extending loosely through openings in said side panels and continuing loosely downwardly through the interior of the l bag, and means for attaching the ends of said handle strips to said bottom panel adjacent said side panels, said attaching means being the sole means securing said handles to said bag and the sole means through which the weight of the bag is transmitted to said handles.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 811,215 Goldsmith Jan. 30, 1906 1,979,978 Martin Nov. 6, 1934 1,996,619 Katz a Apr. 2, 1935 2,025,101 Halpin Dec. 24, 1935 2,164,641 Davenport July 4, 1939 2,577,670 Adams Dec. 4, 1951 2,662,619 Zweigbaum Dec. 15, 1953 

